Abstract

Filterless optical networks based on advanced transmission technologies and passive optical interconnections between nodes offer a lower-cost alternative to optical networks based on active photonic switching. A design and simulation platform is proposed for studying these novel network architectures and looking at their performance characteristics. Simulation results are presented for three reference network topologies, along with a comparative cost and performance study of active photonic and passive filterless optical network solutions.

Figures (4)

A subset of the German network [5]: (a) Network topology (7 nodes, 11 links, 690km diameter); (b) three-fiber-tree filterless network solution. Each fiber tree is represented by a different line pattern. The longest fiber tree is 1214km. A total of 16 passive optical splitters and combiners are used for link interconnection.

a Uniform traffic matrix (one wavelength per connection).b Active photonic solution obtained by minimizing demand length.c One WSS per link (which corresponds to a number of WSS per node equal to the node degree for node degrees greater than 2) and two optical amplifiers per WSS.

a Traffic matrix in Table 9 of [5], assuming one wavelength per 10Gbits∕s of traffic.b Uniform traffic matrix (e.g., one wavelength per connection).c All active photonic solutions obtained by minimizing demand length.d Number of wavelengths shown in parentheses, obtained through minimizing the number of fiber link segments.

a Uniform traffic matrix (one wavelength per connection).b Active photonic solution obtained by minimizing demand length.c One WSS per link (which corresponds to a number of WSS per node equal to the node degree for node degrees greater than 2) and two optical amplifiers per WSS.

a Traffic matrix in Table 9 of [5], assuming one wavelength per 10Gbits∕s of traffic.b Uniform traffic matrix (e.g., one wavelength per connection).c All active photonic solutions obtained by minimizing demand length.d Number of wavelengths shown in parentheses, obtained through minimizing the number of fiber link segments.